Tantalum

Excerpt from ERG Guide 170 [Metals (Powders, Dusts, Shavings, Borings, Turnings, or Cuttings, etc.)]:

Use dry powder, dry sand, special powder. NO carbon dioxide, foam, water. In case of fire: keep drums, etc., cool by spraying with water. NO direct contact with water.

Fresh air, rest.

Remove contaminated clothes. Rinse and then wash skin with water and soap.

First rinse with plenty of water for several minutes (remove contact lenses if easily possible), then refer for medical attention.

Rinse mouth.

Excerpt from NIOSH Pocket Guide for Tantalum (metal and oxide dust, as Ta):

(General first aid procedures)

Use no water; use powdered graphite, dolomite, sodium chloride, etc. Get instructions from the supplier of the powdered metal. /Powdered metals/

A tantalum fire cannot be extinguished with the usual firefighting chemicals. The only effective way to control a tantalum fire is to smother it with a nonoxidizing chemical like sodium chloride or argon.

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

Remove all ignition sources. Personal protection: particulate filter respirator adapted to the airborne concentration of the substance. Cover the spilled material with dry inert absorbent. Vacuum spilled material with specialist equipment. Then store and dispose of according to local regulations.

Cough.

Redness.

irritation eyes, skin; In Animals: pulmonary irritation

Occurs almost invariably along with niobium... found in the minerals columbite, tantalite, and microlite.

Obtained from ores tantalite or columbite... mixed oxides of iron, manganese, niobium and tantalum. ...Considered as rare element earth's crust contains about 0.003% of niobium and tantalum together... .

/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ The toxicity of...metallic tantalum, is low, which is probably due to its poor solubility.

/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ Implantation of tantalum has not shown any adverse tissue reaction in ...man...

/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ A 10 yr study of tantalum gauze use in the repair of hernias revealed no effects from the gauze itself.

/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ There are few reports of presence of Ta in food materials, and accidental poisonings, if any, are rare.

For more Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for TANTALUM (7 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Acute Exposure/ Bronchograms were obtained in 2 living dogs by spontaneous breathing of powdered tantalum (particle size 2-5 mu). Tantalum dust was deposited in healthy and diseased lung regions. Microscopical sections showed that tantalum particles were deposited interstitially, within alveoli but mainly in the peribronchiolar tissue of air passages. Greater amounts of tantalum dust were retained in areas where pathological changes in the anatomy had taken place. Tantalum was deposited in the lungs and in the mediastinal lymph nodes. Retained tantalum did not cause unfavorable tissue reaction. A primarily alveolar deposit of tantalum can only be eliminated by using monodisperse dust of particles with a diameter greater than 10 mu. Roentgenograms do not reveal small amounts of tantalum deposit.

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Acute Exposure/ Insertion of bone plates into bones of dogs and rabbits has ... been shown to cause no microscopic or x-ray evidence of bone or soft tissue irritation after periods of 3 wk to 3 mo.

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Acute Exposure/ ...There are some reports indicative of a delayed inflammatory reaction to tantalum. In one study, tantalum stock was implanted in the subperiosteal region of the mandible buccal mucosa, and the subcutaneous paravertebral region of the back of monkeys. Tissue responses assessed after 3 wk were variable ans appeared to be a function of the surface treatment of the material prior to implantation. Increased cellularity, including fibroblasts and multinucleated giant cells, was the predominant feature in the tissues. In two other studies, 18 months after tantalum bronchography in dogs and 6 months after this procedure in cats and monkeys, granulomatous changes were evident in the lungs. In another study, however, no pathological changes were observed in lungs of dogs 2 yr after insufflation with tantalum dust.

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Subchronic or Prechronic Exposure/ In a 10 week experimental investigation the tissue reactions to implantation of standardized test pieces /of several test materials, including/ ... tantalum, ... were studied in the white rat ... After 10 weeks, no cellular infiltration was demonstrable around any of the implant materials...all appeared inert and were surrounded by a tough connective tissue.

CLINICAL STUDIES MADE ON 22 RUSSIAN CHEM WORKERS & WELDERS HANDLING BOTH TA & NIOBIUM SHOWED LITTLE EVIDENCE OF POISONING APART FROM RADIOLOGIC SIGNS OF EARLY PULMONARY FIBROSIS &, IN 1 OR 2 CASES, CHRONIC ATROPHIC RHINITIS. (...REF TO AIR CONCN OR TYPES OF COMPOUNDS...)

SOME INDUSTRIAL SKIN INJURIES FROM TANTALUM HAVE BEEN REPORTED. HOWEVER, SYSTEMIC INDUST POISONING IS APPARENTLY NOT KNOWN.

THE WORKING OF TANTALUM METAL PRESENTS THE HAZARDS OF BURNS, ELECTRIC SHOCK, & EYE & TRAUMATIC INJURIES. REFINING PROCESSES INVOLVES TOXIC & HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS SUCH AS HYDROGEN FLUORIDE, SODIUM & ORGANIC SOLVENTS.

HOW RELEVANT THE TOXICITY EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM SOLID METAL SURFACES IS TO THAT OF FINELY DIVIDED TA METAL POWDER IS CERTAINLY QUESTIONABLE. CERTAINLY ONE WOULD EXPECT TANTALUM METAL FUME TO HAVE A DIFFERENT ORDER OF TOXICITY THAN THE MORE COARSELY DIVIDED DUSTS.

Basic treatment: Establish a patent airway. Suction if necessary. Watch for signs of respiratory insufficiency and assist ventilations if needed. Administer oxygen by nonrebreather mask at 10 to 15 L/min. Monitor for pulmonary edema and treat if necessary ... . Monitor for shock and treat if necessary ... . Anticipate seizures and treat if necessary ... . For eye contamination, flush eyes immediately with water. Irrigate each eye continuously with normal saline during transport ... . Do not use emetics. For ingestion, rinse mouth and administer 5 ml/kg up to 200 ml of water for dilution if the patient can swallow, has a strong gag reflex, and does not drool ... . Cover skin burns with dry sterile dressings after decontamination ... . /Poison A and B/

Advanced treatment: Consider orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation for airway control in the patient who is unconscious, has severe pulmonary edema, or is in respiratory arrest. Positive pressure ventilation techniques with a bag valve mask device may be beneficial. Monitor cardiac rhythm and treat arrhythmias as necessary ... . Start an IV with D5W /SRP: "To keep open", minimal flow rate/. Use lactated Ringer's if signs of hypovolemia are present. Watch for signs of fluid overload. Consider drug therapy for pulmonary edema ... . For hypotension with signs of hypovolemia, administer fluid cautiously. Watch for signs of fluid overload ... . Treat seizures with diazepam (Valium) ... . Use proparacaine hydrochloride to assist eye irrigation ... . /Poison A and B/

Ophthalmic tantalum clip. Identification: An ophthalmic tantalum clip is a malleable metallic device intended to be implanted permanently or temporarily to bring together the edges of a wound to aid healing or prevent bleeding from small blood vessels in the eye.

Cranioplasty plate fastener. Identification: A cranioplasty plate fastener is a screw, wire, or other article made of tantalum, vitallium, or stainless steel used to secure a plate to the patient's skull to repair a skull defect.

Preformed alterable cranioplasty plate. Identification: A preformed alterable cranioplasty plate is a device that is implanted into a patient to repair a skull defect. It is constructed of a material, e.g., tantalum, that can be altered or reshaped at the time of surgery without changing the chemical behavior of the material.

Mandibular implant facial prosthesis. Identification: A mandibular implant facial prosthesis is a device that is intended to be implanted for use in the functional reconstruction of mandibular deficits. The device is made of materials such as stainless steel, tantalum, titanium, cobalt-chromium based alloy, polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone elastomer, polyethylene, polyurethane, or polytetrafluoroethylene with carbon fibers composite.

Partial ossicular replacement prosthesis. Identification: A partial ossicular replacement prosthesis is a device intended to be implanted for the functional reconstruction of segments of the ossicular chain and facilitates the conduction of sound wave from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear. The device is made of materials such as stainless steel, tantalum, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene with carbon fibers composite, absorbable gelatin material, porous polyethylene, or from a combination of these materials.

IN RECTIFIERS, ESP FOR RAILWAY SIGNALS; IN ELECTROLYSIS CAPACITORS; IN MFR OF RADIO & POWER TUBES

IN ALLOYS, WITH TUNGSTEN FOR FILAMENTS & GRID WIRES; IN CUTTING TOOLS; IN MFR OF SPINNERETS IN RAYON INDUSTRY

IN CHEM INDUSTRY FOR ACID-PROOF EQUIPMENT; IN RUBBER INDUSTRY AS CATALYST IN SYNTHESIS OF BUTADIENE

In pen points; analytical weights; apparatus and instruments for chemical, surgical, and dental use instead of platinum... .

For more Uses (Complete) data for TANTALUM (10 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

SEVERAL METHODS ARE COMMERCIALLY USED TO PRODUCE ELEMENT INCLUDING: ELECTROLYSIS OF MOLTEN POTASSIUM FLUOTANTALATE, REDUCTION OF POTASSIUM FLUOTANTALATE WITH SODIUM, OR REACTING TANTALUM CARBIDE WITH TANTALUM OXIDE.

From tantalum potassium fluoride by heating in an electric furnace, by sodium reduction or by fused salt electrolysis. The powdered metal is converted to a massive metal by sintering in a vacuum. Foot-long crystals can be grown by arc fusion.

Metallic tantalum products (powder, semifinished products, ingots) are produced almost exclusively by reduction of potassium heptafluorotantalate with sodium.

Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing

Tantalum: ACTIVE

Tantalum hydride (TaH): ACTIVE

All heating of tantalum must be done under vacuum, or in a noble gas atmosphere (argon or helium), since it reacts readily with oxygen and nitrogen at elevated temperatures.

Since the first report that tantalum could be used for electrolytic capacitors, the growth of this application has been such that it now accounts for the highest consumption of the metal.